Freebie Film Tip #1: Punk Bouzouki and Belly Dancing

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Freebie Film Tip #1: Punk Bouzouki and Belly Dancing

A woman dressed in flowing robes performs an arabic dance.

I knew a nice lady from Kansas once. She was a wonderful belly dancer. She taught a class in it, even. One of her tales involved her pet snake, a boa constrictor who was naughty, and would goose her with his tail while she danced. He brought in the tip money, though. She also danced with a blonde ladyfriend, also from the Midwest, who later married a wealthy Arab. Another of her tales revolved around the time she broke her toe doing 'floorwork' – the intricate bit where you drop to the floor and, er, undulate. She ended up in the hospital in full costume, causing quite a stir in Kansas City.

My belly-dancing informant was a big champion of 'the Greek Way' – the Greek form of belly-dancing, which involved bouzouki music, rather than the faster, more salacious Egyptian variety. I agree. Bouzouki music is wonderful stuff.

Now what, you ask, does this have to do with Punk? I'll tell you.

As I have commented before, back in the 1980s, when I lived in Greece, I had the wild idea that some friends of mine and I could try to do bouzouki Punk. Nothing much came of it that summer, other than some fun sing-alongs at the barbecues, but it was an intriguing idea.

Apparently, some people take their bouzouki Punk more seriously. Or, at least, are willing to practise. Hence the first of our Freebie Film Tips.

The first video, which features the punk/traditional group Magges, is called 'Ouzo'. You know what ouzo is, don't you? It's a liquor flavoured with anise. Think about getting very drunk on liquorice.

Come to think of it, this music sounds like someone getting drunk on liquorice.

A bouzouki.

The second video is 'Miserlou'. (Yeah, I know that's the same link: just go to the second item.) The first thing you will notice – be blown away by – is the magnificent belly-dancing. That's the real stuff.

The second thing you will say to yourself is, 'Hey! I know that tune!' You might be surprised, though, to find out that it's rebetiki, and composed in 1927. Because you remember it from Pulp Fiction. Here's the tune being played by a string quartet.

So pour yourself some ouzo – or play it safe with iced tea and a Greek salata horiatiki   – and enjoy.

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